Can you manage your house with a local, no-cloud voice assistant?...
Enlarge / The most impressive part is what Home Assistant's voice control does not do: share your voice input with a large entity aiming to sell you things.Kevin Purdy Last year, the leaders of Home Assistant declared 2023 the “Year of the Voice.” The goal was to let users of the DIY home automation platform…
Amazon plans to charge for Alexa in June—unless internal conflict delays...
Enlarge / Amazon demoed future generative AI capabilties for Alexa in September. “If this fails to get revenue, Alexa is in trouble.” A quote from an anonymous Amazon employee in a Wednesday Business Insider report paints a dire picture. Amazon needs its upcoming subscription version of Alexa to drive revenue in ways that its voice…
Alexa just cost Amazon another $46.7 million
Enlarge / The first Amazon Echo speaker.Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg via Getty Images A Delaware federal court has ordered Amazon to pay $46.7 million for infringing on four patents belonging to VB Assets with Amazon's Echo smart speakers and Alexa virtual assistant. A lawsuit from Nuance Communications-owned VB Assets, previously known as VoiceBox Technologies, claimed to have…
Get the Bose Smart Soundbar 900 for Its Lowest Price Yet
People get 4K TVs because they want to enjoy movies and TV shows the best way possible, but most people forget to improve another equally important component: the sound. Generally speaking, TV audio is terrible. What good is it to have a 4K TV if you can’t understand the dialogue? If you’re in the market for…
15 Walmart Early Black Friday Deals Actually Worth Your Attention
Long past are the days when one simply had to set an absurdly early alarm on the day after Thanksgiving and head out into the chill air to stand in line at a big box retailer to take advantage of once-in-a-year sales and deals. In 2023, “Black Friday” has become a month-long affair, and you…
12 Walmart Early Black Friday Deals Actually Worth Your Attention
Long past are the days when one simply had to set an absurdly early alarm on the day after Thanksgiving and head out into the chill air to stand in line at a big box retailer to take advantage of once-in-a-year sales and deals. In 2023, “Black Friday” has become a month-long affair, and you…
After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with...
Enlarge / A non-Amazon TV displaying a fire. People who buy a Fire TV from Amazon are probably looking for a cheap and simple way to get an affordable 4K smart TV. When Amazon announced its first self-branded TVs in September 2021, it touted them as being a "great value." But owners of the devices…
What to Do Now That Amazon Is Killing Alexa’s IFTTT Integration
Photo: MichaelJayBerlin (Shutterstock)Users of smart hubs like Alexa and Google Home have long enjoyed being able to use IFTTT to connect and enhance services that aren’t natively connected to each other. For instance, we recently reviewed Leviton switches, which rely on IFTTT to create automations. The upshot of these services working with IFTTT is that…
These Sonos Home Theater Sets Are up to 20% Off
Right now, Sonos is offering up to 20% off some of their best-selling home theater sets. That includes the Sonos Arc, the company’s flagship soundbar that offers eleven Class-D amps, three tweeters, and eight woofers. The Arc comes with Trueplay tuning, which uses your iPhone’s microphone to tune the EQ to best match your room.…
Get Four Smart Plugs for $24 Right Now
Image: AmysenThe Amysen is a smart plug that allows you to control whatever you plug in with your voice or another smart device—and right now, a four-pack of Amysen Wi-Fi Smart Plugs is on sale for $23.99 (reg. $49).The Amysen Smart Plug is compatible with iOS and Android devices and has a maximum power output…
